The Rebel Faction

"I'll be back within the hour. If I'm late, the pay will be doubled as promised. Just so you know, if you leave...my company will not be pleased." With that, the deceptively handsome looking passenger eased himself gracefully out of his seat and exited the shuttle as quietly as he'd entered. Soon, he was lost in the sea of people headed towards customs.

The disturbing sound of someone cracking their knuckles echoed in the cockpit of the Sentinel-class shuttle. "Gawd damn! What a prick!"

The co-pilot nodded angrily. "The whole flight, he's quiet as tomb then when we think we've seen the last of him for a while, he's got to threaten us. Who the hell is that guy anyways?"

His only reply was an arching of the eyebrows.

"Right, right, he couldn't give us his name and he didn't have to. He's got to be some government type, involved in Black Ops perhaps. Guy's too creepy to be just a normal civvie. Maybe he's a spook?"

"Ahhh...now that's the sixty four million credit question, ain't it? Quit your worrying Joeq. We get double the pay and all we gotta do is lounge around for an hour then transport him back to Glee Anselm. Simple as a Corellian Air Cake." The pilot stretched his arms then stood up and gestured towards the open hatch. "I'm gonna go grab some eats, you coming?"

"Yea, yea...I'm coming..."

As the two men exited the shuttle, still nursing their displeasure at being called to transport such a nasty man, said man had his thumb hovering over a opaque red button. The device it was connected to was being kept in the pocket of man's steel grey suit, allowing for a very casual action of having ones hands in ones pockets. Nodding in approval, Colonel Xen Oso of Section 8 disengaged from the wall he had been resting against. Releasing his hold on the detonator, he let it drop into the bottom of his pocket as he reached into the opposite pocket to retrieve a small datapad. He was about to enter the disarm code when he hesitated, gave it a second thought and replaced the datapad. He doubted the men would leave and they hadn't seen like the counter-Intelligence type, plus..nobody knew Section 8 even existed, so in theory he should be in the clear. But...there was the off chance he was wrong and it never hurt to have insurance.

Patting his pockets reassuringly, Xen set off through the hallway towards customs. Casually tossing the detonator into a passing garbage bin, he made sure the connection between his datapad and the detonator was still going strong before checking the glowing dot on his datapad that represented the shuttle. If they went anywhere, he would know...and they wouldn't be going anywhere for a long time.

Pasting on a fake smile and adopting the persona of an eager businessman eager to invest, Xen was easily whisked through customs as he presented his fake identification and credentials. His cover story was quite simple and to the point. His temporary name was Rix Zela, an upcoming investor and businessman that had heard of an excellent company by the name of 'Stellar Enterprises.' Zela was here to see if he could become an investor and turn a tidy profit. All in all, his documentation was airtight, story was simple which allowed for little holes in it, and frankly, the planet wasn't that heavily guarded nor was security especially tight. Much easier then sneaking into say...Corsucant undetected.

Walking outside of the docking bay, Xen flagged down a hovercab and politely asked to be taken to the location of 'Stellar Enterprises' corporate headquarters. Within fifteen minutes, he saw the building looming ahead of them and as he closed his eyes he mentally reviewed his exclusive shopping list once again. When they next popped open, they were looking into the greedy eyes of the cab driver that was asking to be payed. Giving the man an average tip, Oso grabbed his briefcase and quickly entered the building.

Striding in a self-important manner up to the receptionist, he gave her a flirtatious wink. "Hullo there ma'am. I'm Rix Zela, here to see Mr. Stellar. I believe I have an appointment."

Outwardly, Xen continued smiling. Inwardly, he was mentally rolling his eyes at the entire process. Yes, of course he had hidden weapons and yes of course, he wasn't a businessman but this wasn't a normal company so they should have been able to dig up enough evidence to formulate their own theories on him.

As the droid moved on him and bent at the wait, Oso had no doubt there were several cameras, scanners and perhaps even weapons trained on his body. There was some usefulness in lying...but one had to know when to push that limit and when to retreat. Now was not the time to test how well Stellar Enterprises's security measures were.

Throwing his hands up in mock surrender, the Colonel bobbed his head slightly in a comical rendition of a drunken sailor. "Ack! You got me miss! Yes, yes, I do have some weapons to declare. Let's see now...I'm going to be removing them now so please tell your droid not to vape me. Hmm, here we go." Reaching into his jacket carefully, Xen gingerly extracted one electro-pulse blaster from his holster on the right side. Still smiling, he shrugged his jacket off and turned around to reveal the small thermal detonator at the small of his back. With careful movements, he removed this as well, placing them both on the desk in front of him. Bending over, he next lifted up his slacks and extracted a holdout blaster from a holster down there as well as two small throwing knives.

Giving the secretary a toothy grin, he winked. "Hey, hey. A businessman like me makes a lot of enemies, might as well be prepared right? By the way, would you happen to be busy tonight? I'm in town for a while, maybe we can get together." Giving her one of his most charming of smiles, his eyes twinkled with mischief.

Unfortunately, before she could answer, a metallic voice rang out.

"Sir, I shall be your escort to the meet today. If you will, please follow me."

Sighing, Xen nodded in resignment. "Right...business before pleasure. Until next time miss." Turning to follow the droid, he set off towards the conference room and his meeting with Mr. Stellar.

(O.O.C.: Sorry for the length and quality Rob...my brain died on me tonight, lol.)

The man's grip was firm and reassuring. Xen replied with an equally confident squeeze of his hand. This wasn't a contest of strength nor a display of male testosterone levels, instead, the Colonel was taking note of all his movements. Each act or speech was carefully planned and possible reactions were taken into account beforehand. This was necessary to remind the Colonel that he was attempting to play the persona of someone that would not come naturally to him. The fact that he was being overtly friendly grated against his natural instincts and it took every ounce of his concentration to keep that damn foolish smile plastered over his chiseled features.

"Mr.Zela, welcome. I am Rob Stellar. I trust your trip went well? Please come. Would you care for something to eat or drink?"

As Mr. Stellar waved him towards the table, Xen set off with a jaunty bounce in his step. Leading the way, he took the opportunity to give the room a cursory glance, hiding his actions by commenting about the beauty of his surroundings. Coming to the oval table, he turned around to face Mr. Stellar before giving a slight shake of his head.

"The trip was bearable at best. Since you asked...I wouldn't mind a Firedancer. Two ice cubes and hold the fruit please."

Carefully placing his briefcase down on the floor, Xen removed his jacket and slung it over his shoulder to reveal a matte black dress shirt. Like Rob, the collar was slightly opened. His steel gray slacks were held up by a black leather belt and they flowed nicely down his legs to meet with shiny dress shoes the color of coal. His attire was that of a reasonably well off businessman but to the trained eye, the man wearing the clothing was obviously holding a secret close to his chest. His fluid movements, darting eyes and piercing gaze belonged on a man whose life was always on the line. The closely cropped jet black hair was cut loosely along the lines of a military style cut and his fake city accent was quite horrible. If Section 8 was already up and running, Xen would have hired a professional to do this sort of work but as of yet, he didn't trust anyone else to handle this deal.

Glancing over at Mr. Stellar, the Colonel mouthed a silent word, 'Well?'

Taking the offered drink with a slight nod of his head, Oso brought it up to his lips, taking a tentative sip before smiling slightly and tilting the glass back a bit more. Gesturing towards the Firedancer, he chuckled lightly. "At least you have a talent to fall back on if your company should ever fail."

Sauntering casually over to the indicated chair, Xen took a seat quietly as he organized his thoughts. He debated dropping the facade. Mr. Stellar was sharp, one didn't have to have brains to see that. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to continue lying to the man, especially with such a transparent act as the one Xen was currently putting on. It served no purpose other than to prove Oso's foolishness and place him in a lower bargaining position. Of course, he could be overestimating Mr. Stellar, which was just as, if not more, damaging then underestimating an opponent.

This game was a delicate one, the arena was ripe with challenges that someone like Xen was unprepared for. He didn't kid himself about his skills in such a situation. The fact that he had served as a Guardsmen for the majority of his career hadn't slipped his mind and it hung there like a thundercloud, obscuring his judgement and forcing him to rethink his actions. Yes, he was intelligent, this he knew, but he also knew that experience went a long way and sadly, he had none that could pertain to this particular circumstance. In essence, he was wading through quicksand with one arm tied behind his back while wearing crap colored googles; woefully unprepared for the challenges ahead.

It was with this in mind that he decided to drop the act and lay it nearly all of it out for Mr. Stellar to see.

"I suppose the first thing that you can do for me is to start calling me by my real name."

The transformation was instantaneous and wickedly disturbing for those who weren't used to it. Xen seemed to grow an extra foot as he straightened to his full height. As his spinal column snapped into a military precise angle drilled into him over the years, his shoulders lost their 'hunched over' appearance and locked into place. The nervous wringing of his hands was long gone and instead they were now placed confidently across his chest as he crossed his arms. No longer was he shifting his weight from side to side and now stood confidently as if his lower appendages had grown roots and anchorered themselves solidly into the ground far below.

However, the most drastic change was in his facial expression. Soft, friendly lips hardened into a granite line across his face. Eyes that sparkeled with mischief and greed now shown with an intense intelligence and coldness. Eyebrows that once gave the impression of being well groomed now seemed razor sharp as one arched ever so slightly. It might just have been a trick of the light, but one couldn't shake the feeling that the Colonel's skin tone seemed to have darkened in just a few seconds.

"I must apologize for the earlier ruse, not that it would have fooled you. It was just much easier to slip through customs that way." Extending his hand forward precisely, Xen's eyes sought out Mr. Stellar's...not to intimidate him, but to reassure him. "Now for some proper introductions. I'm Colonel Xen Oso. I represent one section of the government. We're looking to purchase some goods from you this fine day...combat droids, labor droids, security systems, intelligence gathering tools and perhaps even that DATA management system I've heard so much about."

Not surprisingly, Mr. Stellar had not asked for any more information regarding Xen and who he represented. It had been a calculated risk but it'd been worth it. This man wasn't your regular run of the mill businessmen and it showed. Now, Oso knew why Stellar Enterprises had done so well. Their revenue and quarterly reports had caught the eyes of investors across the galaxy and with Mr. Stellar leading the way, Xen was sure the company would continue to outfox its competition as well.

The contrast between the two men was amusing. One on hand, you had Rob. Relaxed, friendly with a seemingly 'bored' air about him. He knew what he was doing and seemed to have extreme confidence in himself. Then you turn around and stare at the Colonel and you have the other end of the spectrum. While not tense, he was alert. He wasn't friendly, but he wasn't hostile either. All in all, it would be immediately obvious to any outsider that to interrupt the two's meeting would be an extremely idiotic move.

Which was why Colonel Oso was grateful that Mr. Stellar put up an electronic field to shield their conversation and transaction.

"Bzzz..." Xen said with a smirk, indicating the field. "How kind of you. My sources were correct in advising me to come see you."

Oso took his time in going over the list present on the datapad. Everything seemed to be in order and Mr. Stellar was not kidding when he said the DATA management system wasn't cheap. But no matter...the government would foot the bill. True, he might get a bit of whiplash from the men handling the credit flow but so far, they'd given him a nearly unlimited budget and he intended to capitalize on that in order to construct the 'perfect' unit.

Selecting a link for the DATA management system, Xen scanned it's statistics and capabilities with a cursory glance. It was certainly impressive and would most likely fit the bill. However...

"Money is no issue Mr. Stellar, I can assure you of that. I would like to see detailed models of everything I need. Like I mentioned earlier, labor droids, security droids, monitoring equipment, cloak suits, wristtop computers, combat suits, firearms, surface to air missiles, surface to surface missiles, adaptive camouflage, orbital insertion pods, rapid stealthed transports, I'm sure you get the idea Mr. Stellar. I do have one question...would it be possible to perhaps...upgrade the DATA management system? Or tailor it to our own needs?"